


Slumber

by waywardriot



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Trauma, just a dumb drabble, ships implied but barely so i'm not tagging them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-23 21:28:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16626722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardriot/pseuds/waywardriot
Summary: When you’re broken, sleeping becomes harder. The loneliness creeps in, unsettling you and making you fear for what is – thus, it was more efficient to stay with each other. The bonds forged in the heart cannot be broken, so it is natural to turn to the ones you know inside and out.





	Slumber

**Author's Note:**

> this is based off something someone in a discord server drew, and i've been thinking a lot about the heart crew(tm) living together.
> 
> edit: the person posted the pic so check it out cuz i’m in love with it!  
> http://zillychu.tumblr.com/post/180156875673/when-youve-shared-a-heart-for-that-long

When you’re broken, sleeping becomes harder. The loneliness creeps in, unsettling you and making you fear for what is – thus, it was more efficient to stay with each other. The bonds forged in the heart cannot be broken, so it is natural to turn to the ones you know inside and out.

Sleep every night is an ordeal. There is lots of thrashing and yelling for others to come to bed and adjusting of covers and rolling around. There’s always a routine for when they become settled, though, a set map of places.

Sora loves to be at the bottom of the pile – he is happiest holding others, feeling them all close and knowing they are safe. It is like a giant weighted blanket, keeping him in a cozy embrace as he drifts off to a, for once, safe sleep. While he has nightmares like the others, being around others evens them out, keeps them (mostly) at bay. The only sign of him having one is his brows furrowing and his arms tightening around the loved ones he holds, making sure that they will be with him always.

Xion likes to sleep directly on top of people, especially Sora. She uses his chest as a pillow and lets his heartbeat lull her to sleep, slow and constant; it reminds her that hearts are real, that she has one beating in her chest just like him, just like all the others. It reminds her of the ticking of time, the ebb and flow of the waves – when she is scared, she focuses in on rhythms and lets them take her to sleep.

Roxas sleeps on one side of Sora, keeping an arm tossed over Xion protectively. He never wants to lose her again, so he feels safest knowing exactly where she is. He is her rock when she wakes up weeping in the middle of the night, feeling her empty chest caving in as she remembers fading out of existence. In turn, she helps Roxas; she holds his hands, kissing them and reminding him that she’s here, that she’s not going anywhere, not anymore.

Ventus sleeps on the other side of Sora, often the very mirror image of Roxas. He loves to be close and cling tight, burying his face in the crook of Sora’s neck and clutching onto his shirt until it wrinkles. His nightmares make him restless, rolling about in his sleep, searching for something he can’t find. Having his former home on one side and his other half on the other keeps him safe and contained.

Vanitas wants to be with them, but not too close. He is prickly like a cat, withholding his affection as to not seem too clingy, the opposite of Ventus. He sleeps balled up a few feet to the side, wrapping his arms around his knees, in much the way he was born. He can’t escape for long, though, as Sora keeps a hand twisted in his shirt, and Ventus keeps their legs twined together as far as he can reach. Vanitas withdraws when he has his nightmares, digging his nails into his legs and stifling whimpers, but Ventus always seems to know when they are coming on and pulls him close to kiss his tears away.

They have a set routine for when they sleep, but it is always different when they wake.

Sora is a messy sleeper, waking up with mussed up hair and surrounded by drool spots. He is too loud and boisterous in the mornings to the constant consternation of Roxas and Vanitas. He’s overly joyful to see his loved ones with him – he loves remembering that they are there, that they love him and they aren’t going to leave.

Xion is restless, sometimes ending up completely upside down in the bed, and she’d punched them all in the face on more than one occasion. They all forgive her, though, for they know that nightmares she’ll never speak of plague her and wake her up kicking and punching. She laughs through her tears as she holds a towel up to Roxas’s bleeding nose, who insists that he is just fine.

Roxas wakes up practically on top of Sora, having taken Xion’s place, suffocating him. He curls around Sora he’s trying to take him within him, in quite a silly way. It is a sweet image to wake up to, Roxas being so fragile and soft, though he always gets grumpy when it is pointed out.

Vanitas likes to wake up early and slip out, having time to himself so he isn’t seen vulnerable. Though if you get a chance to see him, he and Ventus are clinging to each other like they are each other’s lifeline – which they are. Ventus keeps him pulled close, chests pressed together and chin resting on top of Vanitas’s head.

They are an unexpected crew – lost children who found each other, who found a respite from the realities of their existence while surrounded by each other. Nothing seems quite as scary to them when surrounded by the ones who know them best; they’ve all become pieces of each other’s hearts, an unbreakable and unspeakable bond.

Terrors will never leave them behind, always lurking at the back of the subconscious, but with warm hands and soft breathing, it is much easier to remember what is real.


End file.
